Instax Mini 8 – Instant Photo Camera by Fujifilm

Do you remember the old Polaroid camera? Those great portable developing studios are still among us, but in slightly different forms. In this article we will talk about Instax Mini 8, a toy design instant photo camera that might be a solution for those who feel nostalgic about the times before digital.

Intro

Choosing which camera to buy out of an insane market driven by a huge competition, with the competitors bringing upon the new innovative ideas almost every other day is nothing less than a big headache.

People have different needs when buying a camera, and a different motto. Fresher and amateurs usually prefer a cheap camera to attain an excellence towards the skill of photography.

A good camera should have the next features:

You May Like It

FujiFilm Instax Mini 8 is useful especially when you are an amateur photographer in pursuit of grasping the basics in a certain field of your interest.

If you happen to be a frequent flyer or a resident of a place where the environmental heat is scorching, it may be that your cell phone, which is a most handy camera, may not be able to take the photo you need as the exposure might be too much to get a good photograph even when putting 100 % efforts. Also, if you are a resident of a land where there is snowing and is cold almost all the time – cold enough to not be able to take a best shutter shot due to not having enough exposure light, you can also take photos in real time; It will be required of you especially when you work on things where instant photography is a must.

Instax Mini 8 works in many circumstances.

You will significantly need an auto-set exposure in the system which will look into how much exposure is required by the lenses for a better capture.

Without a better view of the background, some camera may confuse between the backgrounds; chances are such that it may not even highlight you as it may also be lacking high-key mode with a good viewfinder lens.

Specifications

WEIGHT – It is slim and lightweight, for it enables the users to keep it handy, and weighs only about 472g.

SELF ADJUST – LED flashlights signal the aperture as to how it should adjust itself.

APERTURE – It clicks on an autonomous aperture setting, i.e., it controls the amount of light it should need to pass through the lens for a good photography.

SPEED – Both its max and mini shutter speed is amazing – about 1/60 second, so you don’t miss anything happening at real time.

As the apps, these days include photo filters; there is not much for a camera to show off for its company name.
But with the high-key mode, it takes pictures with a soft looks which makes it a suitable companion for portrait photography.

Instax Mini 8 uses some eloquent viewfinder to allow the camera system to take a better and brighter picture of the subject with a defining clarity to add a flavor of its making.

The exposure modes (Indoors, Night, Cloudy, Shade, Sunny, Slightly cloudy, Sunny and bright) will help you get the best results in every situation.

Frustrations Free?

No. Instax Mini 8 is a cool camera but it’s not frustration-free. How comes that? The film is not cheap and sometimes you might waste some pictures, especially if you are a beginner. There are deals or bundles on Amazon, hence, you can get them at a cheaper price. The film is stored in packets of 10 pictures.

Once you have them the loading process is pretty simple. Just open the film door by pressing the top button, match the film packet inside, close the door and start having fun. You will see a counter on the back side that shows the available number of shots.

If you buy more than one packets at once be careful about storage. The film shouldn’t be kept in sunny or humid places.
Another annoying fact about Instax Mini 8 is that it takes AA batteries (two) to work.

Tips And Tricks

Here are some tips provided by a buyer from personal experience:

Take good care of Instax Mini 8 i.e it shouldn’t be jostled or dropped because THE LENS circle thing WILL FALL OFF. You can stick it back on but there’s always a little risk involved, the first time the lens fell off I nearly got a heart attack.

Never, ever take a photo in sucky lighting (ex. Our house which is lighted purely by incandescent lamps) In fact limit indoor photos unless it’s an extremely special/candid moment that can’t be replaced. Don’t lie to yourself and think “it’ll turn out good anyway” Nuh uh.

Always payattention to the dial and turn it. I’ve had photos come out as yellowish blanks because someone forgot to turn the dial.

Do not play around with the dial and think you can judge what setting is best for the weather…the camera really is most accurate.

Try to wear light colored clothing. Not white because the flashwill react badly. Not dark/black clothing because the background of the picture (ESPECIALLY if indoors) darkens naturally and you can “Fade” into the background.

Selfies are always best with natural light. If not, and you’re taking a selfie with a friend, remember that the person holding the camera (and therefore closest to it) is more likely to get a little bit whited out (not a lot, but a little) than the other person.

The lens can hold a surprising amount of space/number of people in one photo. This means that if for example, you’re taking a photo of a big group of people, you don’t have to back up as much as you think. If you do their faces will have less focus. Don’t be afraid to close up a little bit. (referring here to horizontal photos of course).

The camera can take very nice photos both vertically and horizontally. Vertically is better for portraits and closeups and is very flexible. Horizontal, however, can get you a beautiful “slice of life” feel, when you want to focus not only on the people but the background and scenery.

The paper/material the photo is printed on is thick, white, and has a little space under the photo itself for you to write something. ALWAYS write with a thin pen Sharpie. Normal pens, ballpens, ink pens whatever bleed and smudge and look plain nasty.

I have to be honest here, this camera is not for dark skinned individuals. I’m african american, more of a chocolate tone, and when I try to take pictures indoors with my friends you can barely see their faces (they’re black too). I thought maybe it was because I was inside, but even when I take pictures outside (even on sunny days) and change the settings accordingly, the pictures turn out so freakin dark. I hate it. Definitely a waste of money. As cute as having little Polaroids are for memories, it’s not worth not being able to see myself or my friends, in the photos. It’s ridiculous. Do NOT recommend.

Absolutely awesome, took this to Africa, and was so nice to give something like a photo instead of them giving…buy it!! This woman in Samburu village had never really seen herself..beautiful…she’s holding the photo I took with this camera!